How to Use Photoshop's Pen Tool

How to Use Photoshop's Pen Tool

Pen - How to Use Photoshop's Pen Tool

Hello everybody. Yesterday, I discovered Pen - How to Use Photoshop's Pen Tool. Which could be very helpful to me and you.

Photoshop's Pen Tool is one of the best creative tools in their arsenal. But most designers avoid using it as they plainly do not understand the conception of what it can do. I use the Pen Tool for many distinct purposes, and in this tutorial I will be showing you a few ways to use it to your advantage.

What I said. It is not the final outcome that the true about Pen. You look at this article for info on anyone need to know is Pen.

Pen

Basics
The basic mechanics of the Pen Tool is plainly that you originate two points (called anchor points), and Photoshop will draw a Path in the middle of them. The Path can then be used for drawing, or, if the Path is a loop (a series of anchors that start at end at the same point) it can be used to originate entire shapes.

Anchor Point: The anchor points are what decides where each Path begins and ends. Think of them of a dot-to-dot picture you used to do when you were a child. To originate a Path you must lay down anchor points at various positions, connecting them together in turn.

Path: The Path is the line in the middle of the two anchor points that draws out the shape or line you are trying to create. The Paths shape depends on the position of its two anchor points and the position of its handle.

Handle: The cope is used to bend Paths. Photoshop will always draw a perfectly level Path in the middle of two anchor points, so if you wish to bend the Path you must move its cope accordingly. Think of it like a lever. The added away and more of an angle you put on the cope the more it effects the bend of the Path.

If you hold down the mouse on the Pen Tool we have a range of Sub Tools.

The Pen Tool is the unmistakably the only choice I ever make off this selection. If you are truthful when drawing your Paths and take your time you probably wont need the other ones.

The Freeform Pen Tool plainly acts like the Lasso Tool and creates a Path wherever the Mouse Pointer goes.

As you will see this creates messy inaccurate Paths, and for as long as I have been using Photoshop I have never used this Tool.

The Add Anchor Point Tool does exactly what it says on the tin. You can use it to add extra Anchor Points along any Path you have drawn.

The Subtract Anchor Point Tool plainly deletes any Anchor Point you click on.

The convert Point Tool plainly adds handles to existing Anchor Points by clicking and dragging.

Using Paths To originate Lines

Draw a straightforward Path, such as a letter S. You would straightforward make an anchor point to start with. Then place a second anchor point, but on doing so hold the mouse button down and drag the bend into it. Then, place the third anchor point and drag in the opposite direction.

This is plainly a Path. It is not something that will be optical on our final image. To make it into something solid we must Stroke the Path. To do this we must first pick something to stroke it with. pick the Brush Tool and set your brush to a 5px Hard Brush and set the color to Red.

Next, pick the Pen Tool again, Ctrl-Click/Right-Click the image and pick Stroke Path.

In the Stroke Path Window you will see two options. A drop down box for the tool you wish to use on the superior Path, and the Simulate Pressure Check Box. The Simulate Pressure choice will add tapers to the beginning and end of your Path. By choosing Brush from the drop down menu you are telling Photoshop to fill in the Path with the 5px Hard Brush we just set. Obviously if you are using someone else tool other than the brush, you would plainly set the options for that singular tool prior to running the Stroke Path function.

Creating Shapes Using The Pen Tool

To originate a shape we must draw out some Anchor Points like we did before, only this time we must quit on the same point we started with.

Now we have our shape we must make it a Selection, for if we were to try and fill this now we would plainly fill the entire background. pick Window > Paths and pick the Load Path As A choice button.

This will convert the Path into a Selection. You will see this by the visibility of the so called "walking ants".

Now this is a choice you can fill it with a color or gradient and can then start to apply Layer Styles as it is now a solid object in our document and no longer merely a Path or selection.

Drawing complex Shapes

In order to draw complex shapes it is leading to learn how to edit the handles of your Paths. If we draw a curve Photoshop automatically adds a cope to the second Anchor Point so that the curve can be continued smoothly into the third point. However sometimes we do not want to continue the curve. To edit the handles we hold down the Alt Key and either reposition the handle, or click the Anchor Point to take off it completely.

This shows the route the Path will take in the middle of the three points if we plainly do nothing to the handle. This shows the route when we hold down Alt and move the handle. This shows the route when we hold down Alt and click the middle Anchor Point to take off the handle.

This allows us to draw much more complex shapes.

Using The Pen Tool To Add / To Subtract From A Selection

When doing complex selections we can use the Pen Tool to accurately tweak the edges.

With the Pen Tool superior draw your Path over the remaining leg. pick Window > Paths.

Now when we pick the Load Path As A choice button we hold down the Alt Key first to bring up the Make choice Options.

Make sure you have the Add to choice Box superior and click Ok. This will convert the Path and add it onto our selection.

To subtract from choice we do all things exactly the same but obviously we check Subtract from choice instead of Add.

Now you have the knowledge, embrace the Pen Tool. Make cleaner selections, and therefor cleaner work.

I hope you get new knowledge about Pen. Where you'll be able to put to use within your daily life. And above all, your reaction is passed about Pen. Read more.. How to Use Photoshop's Pen Tool.
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